This invention relates to thin-profile battery electrode connection members, button-type battery electrode connection members, thin-profile battery constructions, button-type battery constructions, and methods of establishing electrical connections with and between both thin-profile batteries and button-type batteries.
Thin-profile batteries are characterized by having thickness dimensions which are less than a maximum linear dimension of its anode or cathode. One type of thin-profile battery is a button-type battery. Such batteries, because of their compact size, permit electronic devices to be built which themselves are very small or compact. When a higher voltage is needed in such devices, the batteries can be stacked or cascaded with one another to achieve a series electrical connection. When the electrical devices with which such batteries are used are small in dimension, it is desirable to configure one or more of the batteries in such a way as to conserve or minimize the space requirements necessary to achieve a desirable electrical connection between the batteries and other components of the device.
This invention arose out of concerns associated with improving the structures and methods through which thin-profile or button-type batteries are interconnected with one another and with electrical devices.
Thin-profile battery electrode connection members, button-type battery electrode connection members, thin-profile battery constructions, button-type battery constructions, and methods of establishing electrical connections with and between both thin-profile batteries and button-type batteries are described. In one implementation, an electrode connection member comprises an inner conductive surface, and outer peripheral conductive surface, and an intermediate conductive surface joined with and extending between the inner and outer surfaces. The connection member defines an internal volume which is sized to receive at least one thin-profile battery. In one aspect, the intermediate conductive surface tapers between the inner and outer surfaces. The taper enables more than one thin-profile battery to be mounted within the internal volume without the need for edge insulation material over one of the batteries to prevent grounding. The electrode connection member can be mounted on a substrate for providing a generally self-contained, space-conserving power source which can include more than one battery connected in a series electrical connection.